Walking Dead 1. Summary

Doctor Katherine McKinney was never one for superstitions, and never was her brother Malachy, but they never knew that their uncle was preparing for the end, keeping a bunker of survival gear beneath the house. It mattered for a number of months after the outbreak, when the bunker was compromised and their uncle's death, Katherine had to go on a search to find her brother's unit in Fort Benning. It's day 297, two months after Malachy and Katherine lost their group to walkers, they are settled in a church two miles from where Rick's group are travelling, only for Carl Grimes to stumble into the woods and be crowded with walkers, forcing the McKinney siblings to take action and then disappearing without a thought. Rick and Daryl take action to find them, wanting to express their thanks, and question if they could work together to find a new haven. 


	2. Hey There Sheriff, How's Zombie Slaying?

Finding a church made of new, modern brick and the size of a two bedroom house in an enclosed forest was an understatement to how lucky Malachy and Katherine McKinney had gotten over the past two months. They had a group of eight, not including them, and they were all killed in an overcrowd that surrounding the church because of the smell that came from a few foxes and wild dogs that were trapped and died inside. The Sargent and the military Doctor had taken them all out with their twelve years and twenty years of experience before holding the church with all of the bags, clothes and food that belonged to the ranges of age that was in their group.

The church was two miles in the centre of the forest, right away from open road and they had created a steep moat around it, blocking the doors, which were filled up with gasoline, for when the time came. They got in and out by a tunnel that was made a few years before, it lead up to a creek, a non-polluted river and a clear road where they could get to the closest town, which wasnDay two hundred and ninety seven sis, God bless uncle Dermot,s thick Irish accent entered up from a small shaft, into what was the priestt want to bring in the walkers again. They were never clean either, but they boiled water to attempt to get a hot bath in the metal tins they found in the wine cellar in the tunnel. For an apocalypse, they did look good, Katherine couldnFor the gun supply or for me?s earthly voice, popping out from behind the door, her deep toffee hair falling off her shoulder with her half-moon glasses perched on her nose, probably getting stuck into the small libraryt, Katherine would have never gotten her brother back.

**Malachy**So I was thinking, beef? Theret look sick,You** Katherine chuckled, her redheaded brother following her into the next room where the benches had been broken up, made together for beds or firewood. Her pale green eyes flickered over at the statue of JC, and up at the line of five, small bells that had been set up on a wooden plate, each one attached to strong wire that alerted them if someone, or a walker had breached into the mile radius around the church, parting off some of the creek and their cars. **

**Malachy questioned with a grin, bright blue eyes glinting, setting down the guns that he had one him, apart from his trusted handgun he had first received in the army and into a drawer where piles of others were, thanks to the rest of their group. **

**She told him, crossing her arms over the black and red flowered tank top that fitted tight around her petite body, heavy chest and covered her numerous Latin tattoos around the bottom of her shoulder blades, but the ugly scar that wrapped all the way around her right arm was visible. **

**He chucked her three packets of Marlboro Red and her keys to her their father**You didn** Katherine gasped at her baby being mistreated by her bother as she stuck the pockets in her shredded jeans. **

**t think we were going anywhere for a while,**There** Malachy narrowed his eyes with the dramatic voice, grabbing his guns and loading up again, and Katherine grabbed her worn out leather jacket, material cut around the sleeves. She shrugged it on and putting the handguns in her thigh holster, tight around her shredded denim jeans and put the hunting knife in the side of her low heel ankle boot. **

**t take too much, if it Katherine warned him, grabbing her sniper, clutching it in her fingerless gloves and they headed back into the room with the shaft, making sure to shut the hatch behind them as they headed down. **

**t want those sons of bitches eating my dinner before I get the chance to cook it,**Come on,Hold up,t close to being a walker, wearing a dirtied SheriffA kid?Keep calm and kill zombiesHes not alone,Plan of attack?Gotcha,Sorry, but this isn** She smiled cheekily, taking the knife from her boot and driving it into a walkers in her pants. **

**By the time they were finished, brain matter covered their cleaned clothes, Malachy cursing under his breath knowing that he**You through here on your own kid,s anger made his accent thicker, harder to understand to the boyYou** Katherine told him in a threatening voice, her Irish not as thick as her brother**I-I

s your group? You do have a group don** Malachy questioned and the boy nodded hesitantly. ll take you to your group, explain what happened and then wet you ever think about walking through here again if you know what **

**t scare the kid,**I

**s go,**Are those your badges?Were you in the army?We were-You donre telling him about us? We keep to ourselves, only thing they need to know is our name,We** He pointed up to a purple spray painted X on a tree, acknowledging that they were now in a danger zone. **

**s a little up the road, please don**

**The younger sister informed him, looking at her watch to see it was coming on to five ot getting it now. t get back until late, we She explained to her brother and he grumbled underneath his breath. **

**m really sorry,**It** He told them just as they were about to raise their weapons, Katherine somehow recognised the tall, dark muscled man and a younger Korean guy, but she wasn**Did you?t have the time nor care. **She scowled at Carl angrily as Katherine took his gun out of his pants and handed it back over to the kid with a warning expression. **

**re lucky we were close, and you didn Malachy told them and the woman patted her son on the back, struggling to get up because of her belly and approached them. **

**t go further than the purple paint; yous go,s shoulder and they turned around without another word, heading back inside the forest. **

**s beef stew! Eh, what Malachy grinned away, showing off meat stricken teeth as they sat in the main room of the church on dusted old couches that they had found in an antique shop a few weeks back, trying to make the place their own. Night had fallen down over Georgia; a few candles had been lit around the Jesus Christ statue, not enough to attract walkers through the windows but just enough to light up the room. **

**s hardly Aunt Pol who made it,t keep the whole thing. **

**He snatched a note from the table where their cooking instruments were, cupboards of food and bottles of water, and dangled it in his sisters face, and she slapped his hand away with a laugh. It was their aunt Pol**I got the car and you** Katherine argued back childishly, letting Malachy laugh quietly and she winced, holding her stomach and her brother looked at her, worried, placing the bowl on the fixed wooden floor and moved over to her. m fine-**It** He lifted up her favourite vest, pushing her jacket out the way to see the tightly wound bandage, blood had already seeped through. Malachy looked up with a crumbled smile, guilt washing over him for what he had to do. **

**t,**Ill be right back,It should be healed by now, it** Malachy told her as she looked at the thick line underneath her stomach, and the three bullet holes that sat below and just above it. It looked like a child had stitched it together with wool, but Katherine had no choice but to guide him through the whole procedure by directions on a piece of paper while under. **

**re the same blood type,**AB-, rarest blood type in the Old Country,t see it; she laughed at how proud he sounded. **Malachy questioned as she shoved a few antibiotics down her throat and made sure her bandage was on firmly. Katherine couldnd be alright. **

**s group shelter, they had a pregnant woman,**The reason we are constantly changing that bandage is because we offered a group shelter Katherine-March,You almost died, and the wound isn

**t lie down and let you do everything Mal, I was good today, it Katherine informed him, taking out a cigarette and lighting it from one of the candles before grabbing her dinner and blowing out the dish full of candles that sat under a tripod. **

**t trust so easily Katherine,**I** He told her, looking down at his grandfatherclock now. Malachy walked away from her, climbing the ladder beside the statue and up on a metal catwalk where the top windows are, his sniper clutched in his hand tightly. **

**It was early morning when the siblings had begun their routine, working out and sparring before they even thought about breakfast. They made sure that each of them was ready for the day, bags packed and only anything that they really needed was lying on the table in case they had to break for it. **

**Malachy hung off the catwalk, doing chin ups with his wife beater loosely tucked in, dog tags hanging from his neck as he sweated out. Katherine on the other hand was skipping with a robe, something that didnt staining the floorboards. **

**They had really done a good job with the place, especially with only three rooms and a bathroom, the bathroom being a toilet, sink, cabinet and a shower that had been made out of a chemistry experiment, giving them hot water from a garden hose and sprinkler top. It was a good job they had more than enough water. **

**The main room was their living room of sorts, including a book shelf with many Irish books she had brought with her, including cooking recipes and their kitchen and food storage was included. Malachy had even made a table to go in between the couches so they didnd only be able to take the bedding. **

**Malachy dropped from the catwalk, his boots landing with a firm thud. **

**Katherine stopped skipping, breathlessly grabbing her cigarette packet. **

**t be able to run very much with your lungs rotting,**It makes me look cool, I need to look good in an apocalypse,Where is it?Overlook,You ain** He told her as he rushed over to the drawer by the stove and grabbed his sniper lying on the counter, and Katherine looked at him in outrage. **

**Malachy told her, heading from the office and Katherine stopped him, grabbing his arm. **

**ve only got each other Malachy, McKinneys stick together,**If it was a herd, I wouldn** She told him with a stern voice once they reached the Overlook in less time than whatever was walking by, and they went straight up into the remodelled and disguised tree house, Malachy setting up his sniper and Katherine setting up her own, looking through the accurate scope trying to see the walkers. **

**clock,**The kid** Malachy muttered, and Katherine let out a whistling pigeon call, catching the attention of the men and they looked around to see where it came from. He called over to them, finger on the trigger. **

**The crossbow guy let out with a southern drawl. **

**Katherine questioned, her chain smokers voice sounding a little rusty. **

**The other shouted back, and Malachy nodded to Katherine, and they both exited the Overlook, getting back on the ground with the weapons close, observing the two men that had come into their territory. **

**Malachy told the two men, holding his sniper close to him and Katherine was staring at the two men, analyzing them and the one with the crossbow stared at her back with defining blue eyes. "You got a death wish or somethin?" **

**"He's damn right," **

**s life. My name is Rick Grimes, this is Daryl Dixon,**Rick Grimes?s prominent blue ones.

**Malachy told Rick and Daryl, and then looking over to his sister**Rick Grimes as in Officer Rick Grimes?It** She listed and Rick**Kinda

**He grinned away, bringing her in for a hug. **

**re you doing Atlanta?**Erm, what?You know each other? Barbed wire- is that the scar on your arm?I cans you, its your uncle, the others?Oh Kath, I

**s alright, thanks to them we have a safe place. We only knew about you being here because we have strong wires set up as a radius,**I knew that weren** Daryl muttered to himself and Katherine smiled at the two of them joyously. **

**She asked the two of them politely and Rick let out a small sigh. **

**re still looking,**Bring your people back with us; we** Katherine informed them with an excited undertone, the heels of her boots softly crunching into the leafy ground. **

**Malachy watched as Darylhot water**Yes! Follow the trial until you find blue paint, the area around the church is safe; it** Katherine explained, grabbing a piece of paper and pen that was conveniently in her pocket and wrote down the directions. s good seeing you again Officer Friendly,**You too Miss Impala, we

**re heading in the right direction. Smell keeps our humanity hidden,**You

**s a good man, and he Katherine protested his growl, rolling her eyes. She pushed a finger to his chest as she stormed in front of him, making him stop as they came to a blue tree. **

**t hold a gun against your shoulder without getting kickback,t have to see the ugly, raging purplish-red scars that were earned from climbing the fence to help get the truck. m surprised you can even work out without pulling a muscle, or you can even stitch straight. I donm protecting you like always, itt let them hurt you, not again,**If protecting me is your job, where the hell were you, for seven months when I really needed you? When I was trying to find you while you thought that killing families was the right thing to do? The group and I almost died in Fort Benning just to find you, it was overrun with walkers, and survivors from the military. So if anyone is protecting someone, itt no me if there ain


	3. Everyone Is Irish Tonight, Even Rednecks

**Clapping and singing were shared between the McKinney siblings, two glasses of scotch were sat on the table in between them. They were waiting on Rick**Aye, itve had a night like this,Try four years,t had alcohol in quite a few years thanks to having to keep to a strict programme in the army.

**Malachy stated and they heard a sudden knocking sound, making the forty year old man get up from the floor swiftly, but in the process stumbled and fell into the couch with a thud. Katherine fell into a fit of laughter, knowing it was only the group. She got up from the floor, listening to Malachy mutter away in Gaelic as she pushed the door open to the office and lifted up the hatch, looking down to see Rick grinning up at her. **

**Katherine put on a faux Southern accent and an innocent look to her doe like eyes. He chuckled away, and she took his hand, helping him up the last step on the hatch, his little boy following behind him, Daryl, presumably Rick's pregnant wife and a few more others. **

**s alright?**Pft, its fine. Go straight through, put your bags up by JC and we can get introduced,Think you

**t lettin He pointed at her with a smile and she laughed lightly, joining him and drinking the scotch that was in his glass then replacing it back in his hand, Malachy frowning down at the empty cup. **

**Rick pointed out with a smile from across the room and Katherine poked her tongue out childishly before approaching the group, grinning at Glenn and T-Dog. **

**She grinned wickedly at the two and T-Dog gave an admiring observation. **

**t believe Rick when he said it was you, you,**I mean that in the friendliest way possible,Yeah right,How** Katherine asked the shorter Korean and the girl smirked from his side. **

**Katherine and Malachy observed the group, seeing that there was a quite a few of them and soon enough they invited them to take a seat on the couches, make themselves at home and have a glass of whiskey if they Chevy was. Katherine noticed a few of the people she met wasnt mention it. **

**They told them about the room situations and the beds while they were given something small to eat, and they were going to talk about giving jobs in the morning, but for now they were just simmering down. **

**Malachy asked, glass sitting in his hand after Hershel, the vet doctor, had told them about them all staying at the farm and the herd that had passed by them. Thankfully nothing like that had happened to the church yet. **

**Carol told him with a warm smile, and the siblings pregnant wife, who wasn**Thank you so much for taking us in. We heard about you,I thought we were going to keep it a secret!I needed to get to Fort Benning as soon as possible, I doubt this guy would survive without me,Fort Benning? How was it over there?Nasty, we had a small group, but shit things got bad. It was completely overrun, we barely made it out alive,Itve had some decent people come through,"

**Rick agreed, and grabbed his glass of wine scotch and raised it. **The group whined, but then began to genuinely laugh, something none of them had done in a while.

**The others joined in and the siblings smiled happily with them, taking a drink. **

**Malachy started up and then turned back to his sister with inquiring eyes. Rick smirked, looking at Katherine with a defensive shrug. **

**He asked and she chuckled. **

**She replied with a smirk, gulping down the scorching liquor and leaned forward dramatically. **

re going to tell it, tell it properly,Alright then Officer, why don** Katherine countered back sassily. **

**say missy, he might handcuff ya T-Dog joked and Rick rolled his eyes. **

**tell it or what?**Fine, I

**Dermott great, Katherine and her uncle, Dermot lost a few people a couple of weeks back, but they made the choice. t-**He is,Sergeant Malachy McKinney is alive and he

**m just saying,s outfit walking around with rope in his hands. **

**ll be damned,**Hey, Officer!Hey, no need to pull a hissy fit, but if you

**He admitted sheepishly, taking his hand away from the holster and they lowered their guns. t want any trouble-**Hey dude, we don** Katherine chuckled, approaching him slowly. re just looking for gas but the fact yous a horse right there, It have any either,**No, sorry,We need to get to Atlanta, just for supplies. I

**Dermot broke into a smile. **

**ll give you supplies, whatever you need, just let me ride with you,**My name is Katherine; this is my uncle Dermot,Rick Grimes,If youll take them,Ive got my gun and knife, but be back before sundown, I don** Dermot told her, as she embraced him for a tight hug and joined Rick at the fence gate. **

**Katherine questioned as she slowly clicked her snake like tongue for the horse to come over to her, it was thin and she could see the bones through its neck, assuring it quietly. **

**Rick told her, patting the horse and they opened the gate for the horse to walk out slightly. m looking for my wife and son, she took picture albums with her, and I know they **

**m looking for my brother; hes taken me a long time to get here, I Katherine stated, grabbing a saddle that sat on the fence and throwing it over the horse, strapping it on. She had a lot of experience with horses back in Ireland. He went to get up, but stumbled a little and she smirked at the freshly shaven man. **

**She replied with a smile, once he was up steadily and she also hoisted herself up, wrapping her arms around his waist. **

**t done this in a long time,**After that we rode into Atlanta, got stuck in the tank and met Glenn, who then took us to the mall building,But it** Katherine smiled, getting up from the couch and cracking her back. ll take watch, just settle yourselves in and take a lay in tomorrow,**I** Malachy went to stand up, but fell back into the couch aimlessly, making the others laugh quietly. **

**ll take watch, get some sleep guys,d see him again, especially when he threatened to rape her. **

**Katherine rummaged through her back of a morphine injection, but she couldn**Ahem,Would you like something?Not that I love having a man watch me half dressed,I** He replied, watching as Katherine reached for her cigarettes, placing one in her mouth and then offering Daryl one. He reluctantly took it. **

**She shrugged, snipping the thread and grabbed her last batch of sterile gaze. **

**Katherine chuckled to herself, sighing the smoke out her nose. like,Hurms gaze burning through his ass. **

**Yeah, she could get used to some company. **

**Daryl sat up in the perch, looking out the open circular window with his crossbow in his hands, thinking about the young woman who had taken them in and the fact he saw her stitching herself up. She seemed so open to him, to all of them and she had even flirted with him. Nobody flirted with Daryl Dixon. **

**It was getting to seven o**Where** Malachy questioned, not even looking up at Daryl from the ground as he headed over to the kitchen compartment, grabbing a duffle bag that revealed to be full of guns. t make me come and get you!t quick enough to answer him, he banged on the door, probably waking everyone else up. The door opened to reveal Katherine, wearing the same outfit that she wore yesterday and her hair was up in a tight pony tail, she glared at her brother. **

**She groaned, brushing past him and she began to set up in the kitchen, yawning away. **

**ll go and do a sweep, make sure the wires are stable, you stay here,**Don** She questioned Daryl, looking up at him from the ground with a sheepish smile. t use my bow and arrow steadily without getting the shakes,**Have you ever used a crossbow?No, I thought the kickback was worse,Nah, not if you do it right,t surprised that she caught on quite fast. Rick told them that both siblings were in the army for the majority of their lives. s useful, quiet,Could you show me?I mean if you dons fine, I

**Daryl mumbled, going over a grabbing his leather vest from the JC statue and slipped it on. **

**Katherine smirked. **

**ll tell you,**I don** Daryl chuckled and she gave a scoff. **

**re going for nicknames, you could have picked a better one than princess, redneck,**How** He retorted. **

**Katherine flashed her perfectly straight teeth to the older man standing in front of her, and Daryl couldnt some lousy, girly woman suffering through an apocalypse, Katherine was a woman who knew what she wanted and bring out the fists and guns to get it. Is that why he felt so relaxed with her? Maybe. Since they left the farm, Daryl had been more laid back, he was Rickt full of anger anymore, he was just tired of losing people, and wanted to protect them. **

**They shook hands.**


	4. I Say Safe Haven, You Say Walker Bait

**Katherine screeched as she held the crossbow tight to her shoulder, already firing three arrows at a small group of walkers and missed each one. Daryl had to go and finish it off but when she pulled the crossbow away, her arm was shaking lightly. Malachy had come back to the church and the group started doing some jobs to help them out, even teaching Carl and Beth how to shoot properly without hurting themselves. **

**re a sniper?**When I was a medic, I took a year working with snipers, I** Katherine growled, shoving the crossbow into Daryl**How long have you been doing this?A few years, came naturally I guess,I hunt and track too,A real life redneck,If you piss me off lady, I won** He told her, getting up from the log but stopped when he heard her sigh, turning around to see Katherine run a hand over her face. **

**m sorry, its getting harder to handle kickback,**Practice makes perfect,Let** They tried once again, Daryl taking Katherine**If I hit this, I** She whispered, barely audio between the two. **

**t think so Irish,**Scared I** This time he did smile, and Katherine took the initiative to move the crossbow a little to the left, slamming her steel-toe boot down on a rock, making a clink and the squirrel ran for it just as she fired the arrow. The arrow missed the squirrel**Fucking yes!You didn

**She grinned and Daryl stared at how happy she looked, made him realize that maybe Malachy didn**Mine,C** Daryl gestured for her to follow him as she wrapped the bandana around her head and smirked, striking a pose. **

**re something else ain?**Do you want to know now?Eh?We had a deal,I was jokin

**m no Siren y Katherine teased, her accent light and floating to the redneck**I made a deal and It leave you wondering about why I was sewing myself back together and I guess itt quite up with the idea of you lot being taken in with us,A few weeks ago, we brought in a group of three people, a little younger than us and they convinced us that one of their members had the flu. Me being a doctor and too trusting, let them in until they were feeling better. They stayed for a little while, the one, Travis, got close to me and one day, I saw him up and about. I realized that he was well, too well, and Malachy over heard them talking about taking everything we had,I tried to reason with Travis, see if we could make a deal and the next thing I know I was down on the floor covered in my own blood,You got shot?Three times in the gut, Malachy took them out as quickly as possible and the bullets were deep into my womb, and he had no choice but to take it out with my directions on a piece of paper. My life was in his hands and I** Katherine finished, sticking her hands in her pockets sheepishly, feeling tense. **

**t gone into yet,**Er, what** Katherine put her hands on her wide hips, narrowing her eyes at her brother passing around plates that looked to have chicken and bread on. Daryl was quite surprised too, but sat down next to Lori with a plate anyway. **

**Malachy laughed, getting up from the seat, watching his sister become angry and annoyed with him. **

**He shrugged and she rolled her eyes, going over to the group and chucking the squirrel down on the wooden table that had been brought outside. t get your knickers in a twist Kath, we got it done quickly,**Don

**Katherine moved her fist, ducking under his arm and tossing his body over her shoulder in one kick move, but bent down in a seething pain. The group didn**Regretting challenging me old man?Say you

**Malachy grumbled and Katherine got up, turning around and letting out a short mentioned scream. Malachy jumped up from his postion on the ground when a crowd of walkers came close, seeing them straight away and began to drag themselves a little faster. **

**Katherine ordered, dismissing them using their weapons and Lori bundled in first with Carl and Beth, Malachy making sure the others got in saftely and Rick and Daryl was left with Katherine. Katherine began to jog away, but looked around to see Rick and Daryl trying to fight them off. She screeched, alerting them and they ran with her, making sure they were out of sight from the walkers and wouldn**We need to go and help the others,We can** She grumbled to herself, upset and once they reached the cars, she grabbed the keys to the Impala and got inside, revving the engine. One good thing theys destroyed by a lack of attention, how could she have been so stupid? Katherine grabbed the walkie talkie on the dashboard. Katherine watched as Daryl got on his sleek motorbike and Rick get into the small car. **

**Katherine climbed out of the open window and tossed Daryl the keys to Malachy**They

**t just leave you here,**Go, they** She pointed back to the direction of the church, seeing black smoke rise up through the forest. ll see you guys soon,**We** Her pale eyes watched them ride off through the forest and she looked back around her, keeping an eye out on the open road to make sure it**I

s not your fault Malachy, as long as the baby is okay, I don** Lori told him and Katherine shushed her, listening closely and then moved the stethoscope onto her bloated stomach. She could hear the faint heartbeat of the baby inside of her. s okay?**Yeah, I want to keep you on the oxygen for the next hour, clear up the smoke in the lungs and make sure it doesn** Katherine informed her, Malachy grabbing the oxygen tank from the Impala boot and handing it to her, hooking it up to an oxygen mask. **

**Hershel questioned the younger sibling, looking through her medical backpack. **

**ll need to head to the pharmacy to get some more morphine though, thatre going to deliver by C-section?**If youll wait it out but if we

**Lori questioned in worry as she pulled the oxygen mask away for the moment, coughing again and Katherine nodded. **

**ve done it many times and many different types. Breeches, C-sections, natural births **

**t worry,**Right now, we need a plan, made a safe place to camp for the night, and get moving tomorrow,The safest place we had was the church, and we screwed it up,We lost half of the cans and the weapons in that place. All we have is clothes, medical supplies and a few guns. That

**ve been to every place and none of it is safe,**Weve got two experts with us now, these two know more about dangerous situations than we do,We


End file.

Walking Dead, Horror, Romance